From The Editor | July 25, 2013

Healthcare IT News For VARs — July 25, 2013

Business Solutions searched recent headlines for news of interest to VARs serving clients in the healthcare industry.

Delegates Urge AMA To Push For Standardizing EHR

An article on amednews.com reports delegates at the American Medical Association House of Delegates annual meeting expressed concerns that technology is interfering with communication with other healthcare providers. Delegates voted to push for greater EHR interoperability so that independent physicians can more easily connect with other providers, health systems, and hospitals. Delegates also urged the AMA to seek legislation requiring all electronic health records vendors standardize their software.

Urban Healthcare Providers Slow To Adopt EHR

Healthcare providers in large urban areas are lagging in EHR adoption, according to a study by Health Services Research. An article on Healthcare Informatics, reports large metropolitan areas had the lowest percentage of adoption.

Healthcare’s 2013 ‘Most Wired’ Announced

Hospitals & Health Networks’ 15th Annual Health Care Most Wired list is included in its July edition. HHN is the journal of the American Hospital Association, which recognizes healthcare providers with exceptional clinical IT systems.

Logo Shows EHR Certification

An article on HealthData Management reports a new logo will appear on electronic medical records certified under the government’s Meaningful Use programs.

DOD, VA Plan To Standardize EHR

A report on ExecutiveGov.com reports the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration plans to develop a data management service that standardizes EHR. The purpose of the project is to share data more easily between the two departments.

Privacy, Security Risks To Healthcare Listed

An article on HealthITSecurity.com lists 12 privacy and security risks specifically affecting healthcare. Threats included range from cybercriminals to naiveté.

Eye Database Provides Statistics, Simplifies Reporting

The American Academy of Ophthalmology announced plans for an EHR-linked eye disease database. An article on Healthcare IT News reports the database will enable ophthalmologists across the country “to statistically analyze and benchmark their own care.” The database will also give ophthalmologists automatic participation in the Physician Quality Reporting System.

Survey Reveals Doctors Frustrated With EMR

The 2013 Physician Practice Preference and Relocation Survey by The Medicus Firm physician search shows physicians were dissatisfied with their incomes in 2012, with about 5 percent specifically citing too much time implementing, learning, training and using EMR as a burden that kept them away from patients.

Healthcare Professionals Comment On IT

Emergency Physicians Monthly includes an opinion by Richard Bukata, MD, that EMR upcoding could facilitate billing fraud. An article on SearchHealthIT, however, provides a view that copy and paste has value beyond upcoding.

An Intronis Cloud Backup and Recovery Blog argues the need for MSPs in the medical vertical. Intronis cites an HIMSS Analytics survey that says healthcare organizations have a difficult time finding skilled support. The survey reports 76 percent of healthcare providers outsource technology needs rather, at least in part, than hire directly, and 93 percent plan to outsource in the next year. The survey also reports about one-third of healthcare providers have some IT needs on hold due to staffing shortages.